Definition of "piece"

piece

/piːs/

noun
plural pieces
1. A part of a larger whole, usually in such a form that it is able to be separated from other parts.
  Quotations
  No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the Continent, a part of the maine; […]
  1624, John Donne, “17. Meditation”, in Deuotions upon Emergent Occasions, and Seuerall Steps in My Sicknes: […], London: Printed by A[ugustine] M[atthews] for Thomas Iones; republished as Geoffrey Keynes, edited by John Sparrow, Devotions upon Emergent Occasions: […], Cambridge: At the University Press, 1923, page 98, lines 2–3
2. A single item belonging to a class of similar items.
  Quotations
  [The researchers] noticed many of their pieces of [plastic marine] debris sported surface pits around two microns across. Such pits are about the size of a bacterial cell. Closer examination showed that some of these pits did, indeed, contain bacteria, […]
  2013 July 20, “Welcome to the plastisphere”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845
3. (chess) One of the figures used in playing chess, specifically a higher-value figure as distinguished from a pawn; by extension, a similar counter etc. in other games.
  Quotations
  Pawns, unlike pieces, move only in one direction: forward.
  1959, Hans Kmoch, Pawn Power in Chess, section I
4. A coin, especially one valued at less than the principal unit of currency.
5. An artistic creation, such as a painting, sculpture, musical composition, literary work, etc.
6. An article published in the press.
  Quotations
  No, I didn't read the piece on China's faceless masses, I was, I was checking out the lingerie ads.
  1979, Woody Allen, Manhattan, spoken by Isaac Davis (Woody Allen)
7. (military) An artillery gun.
  Quotations
  […] all our Ammunition was spent. Those of us who had Money made Slugs of it; their next Shift was to take the middle Screws out of their Guns, and charge their Pieces with them.
  1743, Robert Drury, The Pleasant, and Surprizing Adventures of Mr. Robert Drury, during his Fifteen Years Captivity on the Island of Madagascar‎, London, page 55
8. (US, colloquial) A gun.
  Quotations
  I wanted peace, but now my piece is clearing out the block.
  2005, “Bloody War”, in Certified, performed by David Banner
  It was do or be done. Get or get gotten. It was self-preservation like I'd never felt before, and when Rome passed me his piece I didn't even hesitate as I raised that bitch in the air and aimed it at Vyreen.
  2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World/Ballantine Books, page 116
9. (US, Canada, colloquial, short for hairpiece) A toupee or wig, especially when worn by a man.
10. (Scotland, Ireland, UK, US, dialectal) A slice or other quantity of bread, eaten on its own; a sandwich or light snack.
  Quotations
  My grannie came and gived them all a piece and jam and cups of water then I was to bring them back out to the street and play a game.
  2008, James Kelman, Kieron Smith, Boy, Penguin, published 2009, page 46
11. (US, colloquial, vulgar) A sexual encounter; from piece of ass or piece of tail.
12. (US, colloquial, mildly vulgar, short for piece of crap/piece of shit) A shoddy or worthless object (usually applied to consumer products like vehicles or appliances).
13. (US, slang) A cannabis pipe.
14. (baseball, uncountable) Used to describe a pitch that has been hit but not well, usually either being caught by the opposing team or going foul. Usually used in the past tense with get.
15. (dated, sometimes derogatory) An individual; a person.
  Quotations
  If I had not been a piece of a logician before I came to him.
  a. 1587 (date written), Phillip Sidney [i.e., Philip Sidney], An Apologie for Poetrie. […], London: […] [James Roberts] for Henry Olney, […], published 1595; republished as Edward Arber, editor, An Apologie for Poetrie (English Reprints), London: [Alexander Murray & Son], 1 April 1868,
  Thy mother was a piece of virtue.
  1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act I, scene iv]
  His own spirit is as unsettled a piece as there is in all the world.
  1825, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Aid to Reflection
16. (obsolete) A castle; a fortified building.
  Quotations
  He receyued againe all the holdes and peeces which his father had lost.
  1569, Richard Grafton, A Chronicle at Large, and Meere History of the Affayres of Englande, […], London: […] Henry Denham, […], for Richarde Tottle and Humffrey Toye; republished in Grafton’s Chronicle; or, History of England. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] [George Woodfall] for J[oseph] Johnson; […], 1809,
  the ranſack of that peece
  '1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto XIV”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie
17. (US) A pacifier; a dummy.
18. (colloquial) A distance.
19. (rowing) A structured practice row, often used for performance evaluation.
20. An amount of work to be done at one time; a unit of piece work.
21. (slang) An ounce of a recreational drug.
  Quotations
  In fact, that was back during the era when you could buy a piece of heroin, an ounce of heroin, for $500 and cut it three times for a 3-to-1 cut on it and the dope would still be good.
  2017, Matt Meyer, Déqui Kioni-Sadiki, Sekou Odinga, Look for Me in the Whirlwind
verb
third-person singular simple present pieces, present participle piecing, simple past and past participle pieced
1. (transitive, usually with together) To assemble (something real or figurative).
  Quotations
  His adversaries […] pieced themselves together in a joint opposition against him.The spelling has been modernized.
  1655, Thomas Fuller, edited by James Nichols, The Church History of Britain, […], new edition, volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [James Nichols] for Thomas Tegg and Son, […], published 1837
2. To make, enlarge, or repair, by the addition of a piece or pieces; to patch; often with out.
  Quotations
  You have broke it, cousin: and , by my life , you shall make it whole again ; you shall piece it out with a piece of your performance
  c. 1602, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act III, scene i]
3. (slang) To produce a work of graffiti more complex than a tag.
  Quotations
  “It didn't rain, so I decided to come piece with you. […] ” We never finished that piece.
  1994, William Upski Wimsatt, Bomb the Suburbs, revised second edition, Chicago: The Subway and Elevated Press Company, page 7
  It is incorrect to say that toys tag and masters piece; toys just do bad tags, bad throw-ups, and bad pieces.
  2009, Gregory J. Snyder, Graffiti Lives: Beyond the Tag in New York's Urban Underground, page 40
  It is often used to collect other writer's tags, and future plans for bombing and piecing.
  2009, Scape Martinez, GRAFF: The Art & Technique of Graffiti, page 124

Definition of "piece"

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